New Diocletian Abdication Follis

After missing out on an excellent example of a Diocletian Abdication follis in a recent auction I decided to see if I could find another one. Voila - I did! And I didn't need to pay $800 for it.

This type represents Diocletian's hope and dream that each colleague in the tetrarchy would happily step down when the time had come. Diocletian retreated to a custom-built palace at Split where he intended to plant cabbages with his own hands.

Diocletian's Palace at Split, Croatia


Unfortunately, Maximian the co-senior tetrarch grumbled in his forced "retirement" and his machinations and lust for power doomed the future of Diocletian's system which he had hoped would endure for the duration of the empire. Maximian managed to grab for the Imperial throne once again and reclaimed his title of Augustus, eventually allying with his son Maxentius who also had become an Augustus. For a brief while, even Constantine, who believed he had been passed over when he was awarded the title of "Filius Augustorum", formed an alliance with the old man.

Meanwhile, Diocletian watched in horror as Civil War shook the empire. And he, relegated to Split, could only watch and worry as his health declined.

So, in that historical milieu I submit this coin for your perusal.

Diocletian (A.D. 284-305) AE Follis

Weight: 6.90 grams

Diameter: 23 mm

Mint: Follis struck at Alexandria (ALE Mintmark) between 308 and 310, after his abdication.

Obverse: DN DIOCLETIANO BAEATISS, laurel-wreathed bust right wearing mantle, holding olive branch and holding mappa in the other hand.

Reverse: PROVIDENTIA DEORVM, Providentia standing right, extending right hand to Quies, standing left, holding branch and sceptre.

Reference: Sear 12922, RIC VI Alexandria 80 corr.




Please share your abdication folles of Diocletian or Maximian!

 

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Very nice, congratulations!
Glad you found a good substitute for the CNG coin.

I have no abdication follii to share, but I would share a recommendation to take a trip to Split.
Very nice town! Much of the palace is still standing, and the city centre is well conserved from ancient and medieval times.

 

Thank You. I have never been there, but on a future trip I'd love to visit it!

 

Mine. One of each!

 

I already wrote about my new Diocletian abdication follis in the "CNG Revealing All Proxy Bids" thread, also in the context of the example that sold (astonishingly) for $800 -- see my posts beginning with https://www.cointalk.com/threads/cng-revealing-all-proxy-bids.359919/page-10#post-4516616 -- but I might as well post it again here. As I mentioned, I bought it on VCoins from @Victor_Clark for less than 20% of the amount of the winning bid on the CNG coin.

Diocletian, billon abdication Follis, 305-307 AD, Trier Mint. Obv. Laureate bust right in imperial mantle (trabea), holding olive branch and mappa, D N DIOCLETIANO BAEATISSIMO SEN AVG / Rev. Providentia standing right, holding [scroll or short scepter?] and drapery with left hand and extending right hand to Quies standing left, holding branch downward with right hand and leaning on scepter with left hand, S - F across fields, PROVIDENTIA DEORVM QVIES AVGG; PTR in exergue. 27x28 mm., 9.6 gm. RIC VI Trier 673a (p. 208), Sear RCV IV 12927. [Die match to example sold by Numismatik Naumann in 2015; see https://www.acsearch.info/image.html?id=2337893.]



A discussion followed about the identity of the object that Providentia holds in her left hand (which doesn't seem to appear in examples from mints other than Trier), and I ended up concluding that it's either a short scepter or a scroll. See these three examples from Trier that I found on acsearch with similar reverses. (In fact, I am 99% sure that the first one, sold by Numismatik Naumann in 2015, is a die match.) In all of them, the object held by Providentia in her left hand looks most like a scroll to me:

https://www.acsearch.info/image.html?id=2337893

https://www.acsearch.info/image.html?id=758098

https://www.acsearch.info/image.html?id=495836

 

Very interesting Donna. I remember your mentioning that you found one in that other thread. I feel pretty lucky as I found a good deal.

 

..that's a very nice one with historical significance (and i'd say at a substantial savings! )..i have no abdication coin, but do have a pre-reform of him..with quite a critter on the reverse..(and special appearance by Vladislaus ll of Hungary)

 

Nice examples folks. Anybody else have one?

 

Super catch, @ancient coin hunter ! Great write-up. I always thought it cool that Diocletian wanted to farm cabbages again when he retired. What a great way to enjoy life!

VERY nice abdications, Folks! They are great, and I really like the History behind them.

Me, nope. Was hoping to luck into one. I like the noble intentions of Diocletian to stabilize the Government. But, alas, nope, did not work.

I really like that he and Maximianus stepped aside. Then Max got greedy again.

My only Diocletian and Maximian:

DIOCLETIAN

RI Diocletian Ӕ Quinarius 1.46g 16mm Rome AD 284-305 IOVI CONSERVAT AVGG, Jupiter stndng thunderbolt sceptre R RIC 193


MAXIMIANUS

RI MAXIMIANUS HERCULIUS 286-305 CE antoninianus Antioch 292-295 CE Pre-Reform CONCORDIA MILITVM Jupiter RIC V 621 H-officina 8

 

That coin has a lot of eye-appeal, @ancient coin hunter , in addition to historical interest. Informative write-up, too!

Bobble-headed post-abdication Maximian with a flan flaw:


Maximian, post-abdication, AD 305-306
Roman billon follis, 8.26 g, 25 mm, 1 h.
Antioch, AD 305-306.
Obv: D N MAXIMIANO FELICISSIMO SEN AVG, laureate bust, right, wearing consular robes and holding branch and mappa.
Rev: PROVIDENTIA DEORVM QVIES AVGG, Providentia standing right, extending right hand to Quies standing left, holding down-facing branch and resting on scepter; I in field between them, ANT: in exergue.
Refs: RIC 77b, Cohen 489, RCV 13414.

 

Quoting Svessian: Very nice, congratulations!
Glad you found a good substitute for the CNG coin.

I have no abdication follii to share, but I would share a recommendation to take a trip to Split.
Very nice town! Much of the palace is still standing, and the city centre is well conserved from ancient and medieval times.

I could not agree more about Split! I actually stayed inside the compound. The combination of living within vestiges of antiquity, the great coastal town vibe, and the beautiful countryside with hikes and other ancient sites is unbeatable. The local museum is fascinating too. I have wanted to go back from the moment I left.

 

Half folles for Dio and Max from Alexandria

 

I probably jinxed myself by showing the seller's photo. Coin has yet to arrive after being shipped on the 24th of May. But - probably just held up in the ISC in New York. Last scan said the parcel had left France.

 

My current average shipping times with USPS to outside US has typically been 3-4 weeks, usually with long delays at customs.

 

Since this situation started, I haven't ordered anything from across the Atlantic unless the seller was willing to ship the package by DHL Express.

 

Diocletian follis - Serdica

Maximian half follis - Alexandria

 

A couple of good ones there

 

My Abdication follis arrived last eve - exactly one month after shipping!!!

 

And here is a snap of the coin!

 

I love this engraver’s error.